Harry Potter and the Veil of Darkness
by JKRjr
Summary: post OOTP. Harry trys to get a grip on his life after his devastating loss, as another nail biting adventure beckons..... please write reviews ...I want to know some one's reading what I'm writing
1. Burrow Buried

**BURIED BORROW**

It was a dark Sunday evening as Harry stared out into the darkness though the window, in his shabby little room. There was a large shadow closing into number 4 privet drive. Harry could vaguely make out the silhouette of the approaching creature. Then suddenly, it burst into view with a flurry of feathers, a newspaper tied to its leg. It was his subscription to the Daily Prophet. The owl soared into the darkness as soon as it was paid its usual fee of two bronze Knuts. 

This was Harry's first copy since his return to Number 4 Privet Drive and Harry was anxious to know what was happening in the Wizarding world. 

Harry's heart fell to his stomach as soon as he read the headlines

**SIRIUS BLACK EXONERATED**

Recent events, including the rise of the Dark Lord and the Ministry's new found faith in Albus Dumbledore and Harry potter, have lead to the dropping of all charges against Sirius Black.

Sirius was recently killed in an encounter ………….

That was it, Harry couldn't read further. Tears welled up in his eyes" Cleared of all charges; He could have been a free man, I could have moved in with my Godfather………. It's all my fault, IT'S ALL MY FAULT!!!!!!" he screamed. "WHAT'S THE RACKET UP THERE BOY" a louder voice bellowed "DON'T MAKE ME COME UP THERE". Harry could hear a few hushed voices; some whispers followed by a strained soft voice which faintly resembled his uncle's "Are you all right?" Harry couldn't help grinning as he realized what the concern was all about. He was sure that Mr.Dursley had just remembered the threat he had received at the station from the Order. "I'm fine" replied Harry "bad dream."  Harry remembered several occasions this summer with uncle Dursley's red face, green vein in his temple, mumbling softly to Harry. 

Summer wasn't that bad really. The Dursley's were treating him like some time bomb and stayed away from him as much as possible. This suited Harry really well. It was not as if he wanted their company. He wanted to be alone, he wanted to mourn. For the last 3 weeks all he ever thought of was Sirius. His dreams still replayed the fateful night, and the days filled with remorse. But something happened one morning that helped a great deal. Another owl, carrying a letter with the Hogwarts seal.

_Dear Mr. Potter,_

_Under special circumstances, the Decree for the Restriction of Underage magic can be waived. You are here by permitted to use magic outside the school._

_Head Master_

_Albus Dumbledore_

Harry's heart soared, he was permitted to use magic outside the school, and he couldn't believe his eyes. He quickly took out his quill and two pieces of parchment and wrote to both Ron and Hermione. "Oh, how jealous they would be" he thought and that thought made him feel better. He was also thinking of the possibilities with Dudley, "wow, this is going to be fun!! Summer is not going to be that bad after all! "

The fun started after the meager breakfast the next morning. "Dinky doo, come down for breakfast. Duddy darling, hurry, it's getting cold."  Dudley roared downstairs, set eye on the table "What, grape fruit and toast …again?" "But Popkin…you have to remain in shape for the boxing tournament, move like a butterfly and sting like a bee." "Move like a sloth and fall like a bull more likely" thought Harry to himself. Anyway, the thought of boxing seemed to calm Dudley down and he sat down to eat, quietly eyeing Harry for any sign of laughter. He saw a cruel smile on Harry as he scribbled something down on a piece of paper. He had a horrible feeling that he knew what Harry was writing down.

Harry rushed to his room post breakfast and Dudley followed him. Dudley burst into Harry's "What's in that piece of paper?" Harry smiled "What paper?" "I'm not an idiot you know!!" said Dudley, raising his voice. "Well Popkin, I'm going to need some proof!!" "You know what I'm talking about." "Oh! You must mean this scrap of paper, well you might as well see the full works, it has a nice title" said Harry as he handed Dudley a long sheet of paper. Dudley's jaw dropped as he read the title,

**THE MANY NAMES OF DUDLEY DURSLEY by Aunt Petunia**

Below it were listed at least 35 different silly names Aunt Petunia had used for Dudley. "It has another interesting section to it, turn it over" said Harry, his smile widening. The color on Dudley's face continued to change to a darker shade of Crimson as he read the title on the next page. 

** THE OTHER POSSIBILITIES by Harry Potter**

"I think you'll like Pigtail the most in this section, don't you" Dudley was sporting a shade of red, Harry had never seen before on any Dursley. With a quick flurry of big clumsy arms he ripped the parchment and flung it on the ground and glared at Harry. "_Reparo_….._Accio Parchment" muttered Harry. Dudley's jaw dropped and he rubbed his eyes as the parchment that he had just torn had rebuilt itself and flown to Harry's hand. "_Silencio"_ just as Dudley opened his mouth scream. _

"Care to join me for some real breakfast? " And just like that Harry drew up a real meal with his wand. Dudley's eyes pooped out off their sockets as he saw pancakes dripping with syrup and butter, bacon, eggs, piles of toast and a tub of honey. Harry grinned through a mouthful of pancake "Jum een when uuu eel like… I'll take off the spell if you promise to shut up" Dudley nodded. "Help yourself", just when a loud knock sounded on the door. "_Evanesco" the food cleared just as Aunt Petunia came in "Dudders, what are you doing here, with...with this kind!!" and she ushered him out of the room as if Harry was suffering from some sort of infectious disease._

While Harry waited for the inevitable he took out the official letter from Hogwarts, "_Duplicaro" smiled happily as he saw copies of the letter being created.  It was only a matter of a few minutes before he heard the roar "BOY, WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU ABOUT USING THE M THING INSIDE THE HOUSE…COME DOWN HERE THIS MINUTE….I KNOW THAT YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO USED IT OUTSIDE YOUR MAD HOUSE." Harry calmly walked downstairs and without word handed a copy of the document to all the Dursleys. _

Uncle Vernon looked like he'd just swallowed a whole watermelon, Dudley was clutching his backside and surprisingly Aunt Petunia broke the silence "Is this because you know who is back?" It was Harry's turn to look surprised "I suppose so; I narrowly escaped him last year…again". Before an almost suffocated Vernon managed to say a word, Aunt Petunia quietly said "go back to your room and be on time for dinner." Dudley looked deflated, Harry had gotten off easy!!!  About half an hour before supper there was a knock on Harry's door, and in came a grave Aunt Petunia.

"You have to rid the world of him, the world is better off with you around than him. You must fulfill the prophecy. We cannot go back to the times when he was at the peak of his powers. The Dark Lord must be stopped and I know that you are the only one who can do it."  She left just as quickly as she came, giving Harry no time to respond. "Wait …wait how did you?…..WAIT!" But she was long gone and Harry didn't want to bring up the subject before everyone. Dinner was a quiet affair, both Dudley and uncle Vernon pretending as if he was invisible. Aunt Petunia acted as if the conversation never took place and Harry tried to catch her eye in vain.

Everyone at the table jumped at least a foot high when a golden feather and a parchment exploded into view and settled on the table. Harry was the only one that moved

_Burrow destroyed nothing found but rubble. Luckily the Weasley's were at head quarters, coming to pick you up at _midnight___. Get your stuff ready_

- _Lupin._

"So it has begun. Voldemort is trying to eliminate supporters of Dumbledore!!" thought Harry. Again Aunt Petunia was the first to respond "What is it? " "I am out of your hair for the rest of the year, professor Lupin is coming to pick me up tonight. 


	2. Surprise Surprise

**Surprise Surprise**

"Hello Harry", said a chorus of voices outside Harry's window, right at the stroke of midnight. "How'd you like our new set of wheels……. neat huh? C'mon mate, say something!!! Don't just stand there squabbling like a goldfish" 

"Fred, George, what are you doing here? Where are you? I can hear you but where in the world are you? Can't you see all the street lights are off?"

"Dolt, switch off that invisibility charm…he can't see us!!...It is off!!"

"Silencio! A gruff voice said, it was a bad idea bringing them along!! They will raise the entire neighborhood"

 Harry stared into nothingness amazed that such a racket was coming from mid air outside his window. He imagined an invisible flying carpet with the Weasley twins brawling at the edge. "Now how do we make sure that he is Potter?  "We don't need to, if he isn't he will not be able to get into, you know where!!" said a calm quiet voice that Harry instantly recognized as Lupin's. 

"If you guys don't show your selves within the next 20 seconds, I'm going to empty a barrel of paint over where I think your voices are coming from!!!"

Instantly Harry made out the profile of a car dimly illuminated by the dome light, floating right outside his window.

 "Is this flying car yours?  It's beautiful…hello professor, hello mad- eye professor… er….sir." 

"Hey am I invisible or what? "Sorry Tonks, the interior is not bright enough. ……"

"Get your stuff and let's get outta here, before any muggles spot us!!" growled mad eye.

Within the minute they were on their way to number 12 Grimmauld place. Harry was admiring the interior of the car. It was as big as any apartment he had seen. Furnished with Gryffindor red, it even had the prefect style bathrooms. "This must have cost you a fortune!! How could you afford such a thing? " 

"All thanks to you mate; our joke shop is a huge success. We've already opened up a branch at Hogsmeade. We got this only today after the….." his voice trailed off. "Welcome to the Weasley mobile Burrow! We haven't even shown it to mum yet.

 It has several wonderful features, many of which we haven't tried yet. Wonder what this button does!" A huge pair of hands grabbed Tonks and enormous boot came out of nowhere and kicked Tonks out of the car. "Oops!  That must've been the one for uninvited guests!" Both the twins and Harry burst out laughing. 

"CRACK!" a steaming Tonks had apparated right besides Fred. "Laugh all you can, I'll get back; you just wait and see, in fact the spell is already in place!"

 Before they knew it, they had reached Grimmauld place!! The sight of Sirius' house suddenly made Harry feel like he had a stomach made of lead. He face grew visibly pale, as he entered the house. 

"Cheer up Harry; we've got a great party lined up for you….. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" said a smiling Lupin. "SURPRISE" yelled everyone. That included Ron, Hermione, and the rest of the Weasleys (excluding Percy), the party which brought him there, professor McGonagall and Professor Dumbledore. Harry was stunned. He was so happy at leaving Privet Drive that he had forgotten that it was his birthday. Another thing hit him. People had just screamed right in front of the portrait of Sirius's mother and yet there was no protest from her. He turned towards her portrait only to find brown wrapping paper covering a major portion of it. "Whoa….this is great, thanks guys" He looked at Lupin "how, why, isn't that screaming?" he said, pointing towards the brown paper. "That's part of the surprise, go on take off that brown wrapping…go on."

Harry walked tentatively towards it and gingerly tore open the paper. "SURPRISE" the portrait yelled. "Miss me?!!!"

Harry stumbled in shock; he was staring into the smiling face of Sirius Black!!  

He turned back to face the smiling crowd and back to the portrait "How…hey… Somebody pinch me!!" George obliged immediately "ARRRRRRGGHHH!!!  Not that hard you idiot" Sirius laughed as he explained "I woke up here as soon I had passed through the veil. I waited for ages waiting to be discovered, but it seems no remembered that all of the Black family have their portraits made as soon as they are of age. I tried screaming, but it takes a while to master your available faculty when you are a two dimensional object.  Anyway, it seems that when things were thrown into the fire, Kreacher (Harry drew a sharp breath at the mention of his name) for some reason chose to safeguard this portrait. I guess I am somewhat indebted to that miserable house elf after all.  " 

"Say, if this portrait was drawn when you were of age, how do you look so as old as I last saw you"

"Well, it seems that although the portrait was not 'Alive' when I was, hmmm…..how shall I put it? Of flesh and blood, it still aged along with me. It had a spell to mimic my appearance as I changed over the ages. Anyway, here I am."

/* please submit reviews, the next chapter will be up next weekend ….   Happy Halloween */


	3. Reunions

**REUNIONS**

"Everyone to the Kitchen, its dinner time!!" said Mrs.Weasley over everyone's voices.  Harry walked into the kitchen to come across the most enormous cake ever, modeled after a golden snitch. The cake was happily fluttering around the place. "It's enchanted, It'll fly around till you're ready to cut it" explained Hermione. Fireworks exploded all over the place as Harry blew out the candles and cut the cake. The noise culminated with all the people breaking out into a chorus of "Happy Birthday dear Harry……." 

Harry couldn't remember a happier day in his life. 

 Just before leaving professor Dumbledore handed Harry a "Harry, here you are, it's a portkey to my office, use it when you think you are ready. We need to have a little talk. Just brush the ring thrice and you'll be there." 

"So, how've you been old mate" Harry turned around to face both Ron and Hermione. He just realized that he had been at number 12 for over 5 hours and had not had a proper conversation with either of them. "I'm sorry……I didn't talk earlier…you know…..with the party…..with Sirius and stuff ….."  "No need for and apology Harry, and we were just as speechless when we saw Sirius tonight" said Hermione.

""What do you mean saw him tonight? Weren't you guys here all the time? At least Ron…after you know, what happened to the burrow. How did it happen anyway?" The words came out in a rush. There was so much catching up to do. It seemed like Ron too was waiting for this moment, for words gushed out at a tremendous pace.

"It was a holiday at the ministry; I guess you know who figured all of us would be home. We would have been, if it hadn't been for your birthday. Professor Lupin had us come over here to help him get the place in shape. Dad went with Fred and George to see their work shop. They needed to get some stuff for you, and mom didn't trust them enough to get the right stuff for you…..if you know what I mean? You should see their shop, its wonderful. They've got 2 floors….."

Harry marveled at how Ron could completely diverge from the topic in discussion. "Ron…you were talking about the burrow!!!" "Oh! Yes….. so when we were done clearing up and preparing for your party, we decided to go home for the night. We traveled by floo powder. When I stepped into the fireplace and yelled BURROW I was thrown back into this room!! Professor Lupin immediately contacted Dumbledore. He said that floos throw their passengers out only when the destination does not exist or has been closed. Dumbledore and dad came back with the news that the burrow was gone!! They said that it was completely razed to the ground. Luckily all of us were away. Fred and George had heard Dumbledore saying that he had discovered remnants of residual magic and that it was no natural disaster!!" 

"I'm sorry Ron said Harry. I'd always thought the Burrow was the perfect house…."

"Don't be…..yelled Ron haven't you seen the mobile Burrow, it's way cooler than our old one! And all of us are safe aren't we and I get to spend all summer with you folks this way?" Harry and Hermione exchanged significant glances. "I'm…eh…glad that you are taking this well Ron….real brave of you. What's up with you Hermione? When did you get here?"

"Well, I came here today morning, after sending my parents off to France. Professor Dumbledore wanted quick action. He felt that it was in the best interests of all muggle born wizarding families to relocate themselves in distant locations…basically away from here. The attacks have started Harry and the Professor feels that it will only get worse."

"Don't look so forlorn Harry; we at least get to spend the rest of summer together. Nothing's lost yet, we all are in one piece and more importantly Sirius is back"

"Hey speaking of Sirius, you guys haven't told me what you learnt from him" 

"Nothing!! Professor Lupin was very secretive about it and had even placed an Impenetrable charm around the painting. He said it was to be opened by Harry only and no one else."

 "Or else you'd have ruined the surprise….said Lupin as he walked into the room carry a life sized framed canvas. "Hey, what's that for?" asked Harry. "Oh this is so that Sirius can stretch his legs. I am placing empty canvasses all around the house and bewitching them so that Sirius can walk around, feel at home"

"EXCELLENT IDEA" said all three in chorus. "What's an excellent idea? Boomed Sirius' voice as he entered the empty frame Lupin had just place over the fire place. "Hey moony, couldn't you find a better place for this, its right over the fire, and I'm sweating already. It's terribly hot!!!" 

"Hey Sirius, I've been dying to ask you? Can you still transform when you are a portrait?" asked Ron.  "Fat help it'll be to be able to turn into a dog when you are nothing but an animation, capable of running from frame to frame!!! snapped Sirius, we portraits are totally incapable of magic."

"I really must read up on charms on paintings" muttered Hermione. "Light reading Hermione? bantered Ron

"I want you guys to leave this room, I need to talk to Harry alone" said Sirius. 

"Anything you say to Harry, you can say in front of us……isn't that right mate?"

Sirius stared at Harry, with an eyebrow raised. After a while, Harry said softly "I don't know Ron, there are a few things that, I don't think you are quite ready to hear!" He looked pleadingly at Hermione who quickly responded" C'mon Ron, he'll tell us later, let's go and with that she dragged a rather reluctant, red faced Ron out of the room. Lupin quickly followed suit.

"Let's get straight to it. You, Dumbledore and I are the only ones who know the prophecy." "How do you know?" 

"Well Dumbledore decided to tell me because he felt you would need someone to share your feelings, secondly, no one can gain access to a portrait's mind through legillimency.  So I was the right choice for more than one reason. Now you need to master legillimency, if Voldemort gets an inkling of what the prophecy says, you can imagine what he will do. Any you know that you are in no shape to face him" Harry felt a familiar surge of anger rush through him as he heard this. "There is no need to blow steam at what I've said. I accept that you've battled him more often than any know wizard and come out tops. Something not many full grown wizards can boast of, but I'm sure you witnessed the duel between Dumbledore and Voldemort? Do you think you can do just as well in a one on one combat with Voldemort, or Lestrange or the rest of the death eaters? Remember they come not as one's or two's but as hoards. 

I think you know what you have to do Harry. Talk to Dumbledore, he's the only one who can help you. Do what he says." Harry flared up "Look what listening to him, did to you, and did to me!!! If he had been upfront with me, would this have happened to you? Tell me… TELL ME!!! " 

"People make mistakes Harry" "BUT OTHER PEOPLE'S MISTAKES ALWAYS SEEM TO COST ME!!! FIRST MY PARENTS, NOW YOU"

"At least you have got me back  ...…..err…..to some extent at least! And what ever has happened gives you no excuse for your actions!!  And stop blaming Dumbledore for what has happened."  

Sirius broke the silence "Think about what I've said Harry, I know you will." With that Sirius left the canvas leaving Harry to stare at the blank canvas.  

After a few moments, Harry brushed his ring thrice, felt the familiar tug behind the navel and landed spot in the middle of Dumbledore's office. "Here I am sir, I'm ready for our talk!"

/* Keep submitting Reviews, ideas etc helps me write more, keeps me going */


	4. The talk

**The Talk**

**"**Harry, Harry, here so soon? Had a talk with Sirius I guess. "Harry nodded. Fawkes promptly landed on Harry's shoulder giving him an affectionate peck. "Hello Fawkes, you seem much better now." He looked around the room and it seemed much cleaner than when he had last left it. All the broken objects seemed to have repaired themselves. "Ah, I see that you've noticed that I've redecorated" said Dumbledore with a chuckle. Not that I didn't like what you'd done with the place, I really did!! Chocolate frog?? "  "No thank you"

"I really think that you will like this one! It's a collector's edition" Harry knew from Ron that the collector's editions were very expensive and had cards of really rare wizards. 

There was only one left in the bowl and it was covered by a wrapper that seemed to change color at every other instant. There was also the croaking which disturbed Harry. This seemed to add far more realism to the frog than he wanted. "_It'll be like eating the real thing….Yuck!!!" _ Harry removed the wrapper and turned the card over to see which wizard he had got. It was **'SIRIUS BLACK' **waving to him from inside the card**.  **"Since when have the started putting **Sirius** in the chocolate frog cards?" asked Harry. "Well since all charges against him were dropped this summer, the Chocolate Frogs decided him to honor him by accepting him into their collector's edition material. This card though has a few special charms to it; you might call it my own personal touch. Unlike other cards you can call out to him and he will be able to talk to you."

"Hey Sirius, you there? " Been here all this while waiting for you to call out? Ah…so professor Dumbledore this is what it feels like to be in a chocolate frog card!! Not too bad really. This way I can come with you everywhere, to your classes you games, wow, it opens up way too many possibilities. It might not be that bad to be dead ………….."

The 'D' word seemed to jerk all of them back to reality. After a moment of awkward silence "The Prophecy…." Both Harry and Dumbledore started together. "Go on Harry," said Dumbledore. "Well sir, I'm very happy that I have Sirius back "…."The feeling is mutual" squeaked Sirius from the card "and that I can share the prophecy with him and all that" continued Harry. "But I think I still need to tell Ron and Hermione, I tell them everything. How can I keep the biggest secret of my life from them?"

"Ah…I thought you might bring that up. Well Harry, it is your decision. But you must know this; Voldemort would do anything to get his hands on that prophecy. Letting people into the prophecy would endanger not only your life but also those who you choose to unload your burdens on!" "But….but does that mean…." "No Harry that doesn't mean you cannot have friends, in fact now is the time to rely on friends more than ever."

"I need to tell them sir, I need them. I'm sure they would learn Legillimency for me, I'm sure they would."  "I'm sure too Harry, let me think on it. I promise to get back to you within the week" Harry decided to drop the subject….for now. "Sir there is one more thing I need to ask you. Before I left the Burrow, Aunt Petunia acted kind of strange. She never talks about magic, and I'm not sure I heard right. She talked about the prophecy and how I should get rid of Voldemort and stuff like that. A few moments later, at dinner she pretended as if nothing happened!! It was almost as if I had been talking to a different person all together. I don't know who it was, but it sure didn't feel like Aunt Petunia to me." 

"Could she have been under the imperious curse?" squeaked Sirius. "But why should someone use the imperious curse on Aunt Petunia and then tell me to get rid of Voldemort….makes no sense at all!"  "I'm going to have to agree with Harry, Sirius. It is most unlikely that someone would use an Unforgivable curse to give Harry a message of this sort. Hmmm……., it seems most unlikely but is the only possibility!!" murmured Dumbledore. "What, what is the only possibility?" asked Harry. "Such possessions are very rare and almost undocumented…yet, that ….." "Are you saying that it was someone else that spoke through Petunia?" said Sirius excitedly. Only one person would be able to do that ""**LILY" **said both Dumbledore and Sirius in chorus. "Huh…..you mean, you mean, I actually heard my mom speaking through my Aunt?" "Yes Harry, that; is the only explanation for what has happened. That is the only way your aunt could have known about the prophecy. That explains her change of nature. And that most importantly explains the message. This possible only in special cases is Harry. Your mother loved you very much. It was that love that saved you from Voldemort the first time. It is that love that brought her to you that day."

Harry was speechless. Within a span of 48 hours he had spoken to his mother. He had gotten a part of Sirius back. His life was not as bad at it had seemed a month ago.  "You know what, sir; I don't think that I've had a happier day in my life." Dumbledore nodded smilingly. "I know Harry, I know." 

There was a brief moment of silence when Dumbledore surveyed the happiness wrought on Harry's face before suddenly Harry said fiercely "What do I have to do? What do I have to do to prepare for the prophecy?" 

"Wow, that was out of the blue, said Sirius.  "I'm very proud of you Harry" said Dumbledore, "you didn't ask how to change the prophecy, and instead you asked how you could prepare for it. Like you said Harry, it is only possible to prepare for what's coming. Now that you know what's coming; you can do a better job of preparing for it. It is with this in mind that I got the decree for underage magic waived I'm for you Ron and Hermione."

"You got it done for Ron and Hermione as well? Great…..I didn't have much time to catch up with them. "

"There is a lot of work involved in your preparation and I don't expect you to get there alone. Besides, it is known that you never get into trouble alone. Ron and Hermione are always somewhere nearby" he added with a chuckle.  "Progress has to be shown fast and results have to be produced faster. I know that you are just children but you three put together have achieved far more than many fully grown wizards. It is my personal opinion that you are more than competent. You will be reading and learning about magic way beyond your requirements for even the seventh year of school. But it is necessary. "

"You must continue learning Occlumency and this time I will make sure that you get it right. I will teach you Occlumency everyday for an hour starting tomorrow at 5pm."

"Thank goodness Snape is not doing that anymore!!" flamed Harry. "Ah, but I have a worthier job for professor Snape. He" Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his eyes "will be you defense against dark arts teacher until school reopens."  

"What…whoa…" Harry fumed "does that ...that……what; does he know about the dark arts…..you know what he did to me with his Occlumency training!!" practically yelling at this stage. "Don't ever question professor Snape's competence" said Dumbledore booming. "I accept that making him teach you Occlumency was a mistake, but I sure that I haven't made one this time. You mutual dislike will cause you to push each other more and hopefully hasten the learning process…come in Severus"

Harry turned aghast to face Snape looking as vindictive as ever. "Hello Potter" he hissed "seems you found yourself a new teacher!! Hopefully you are not as pathetic at Defense as you are in Potions." 

/* Please enter your reviews…I need them */


End file.
